Why River Plate Starlet Matias Kranevitter Is Natural Heir to Javier Mascherano
After legendary coach Ramon Diaz walked out on Primera Division champions River Plate, there were concerns over the club's future. Luckily for Millonario fans, however, the man who followed El Pelado into the hot seat has taken to management like a duck to water.
Former playing icon at the Monumental Marcelo Gallardo promised great things during a short spell on the bench at Uruguayan side Nacional. But in just a short time with River, the coach has shown his aptitude, forming a dynamic, exhilarating team that has swept aside allcomers so far.
It is not hyperbole to suggest that Gallardo's River is one of the best local teams since the 2006 vintage Boca Juniors, fired by striking duo Martin Palermo and Rodrigo Palacio. With five wins in six, the Millonario occupy the summit of the Transicion championship, even having played one game fewer than their nearest challengers.
Speaking to delighted fans, the phrase "Barcelona of Nunez" has even been heard, in a self-deprecating but partially justified evaluation of a side that presses hard, holds on to the ball and attacks with Exocet precision.
At the heart of all this, moreover, is one of the hottest midfield talents Argentina has seen in recent years. Javier Mascherano remains a favourite around the Monumental for his performances as a youngster, but in Matias Kranevitter, the Barcelona titan may have a long-term successor in the Albiceleste engine room.
The 21-year-old, born in the north-western province of Tucuman, was used as a rotation player by Diaz behind the likes of Leonardo Ponzio and Cristian Ledesma. But when Gallardo assumed command, he was thrown into a starting role. The results, to put it simply, have been spectacular.
The youngster is no stranger to hard work. One of six brothers and sisters in the town of Yerba Buena, an area of Tucuman marked by ostentatious affluence sitting side-by-side with harrowing poverty, Kranevitter entered the workplace as a caddy on a local golf course at the age of 12, to put food on the table.
Just like so many of his peers in Argentina, forging their characters far away from pristine football academies and sheltered environments, that sacrifice and commitment to succeed flows out of him when he takes the pitch.
Kranevitter harries, unsettles, unbalances and hits hard in the middle of the pitch. He is the model of an Argentina No. 5, the defensive midfielder who shields the defence but also has the responsibility to carry play forward on the ground. Just like Mascherano, his distribution is rarely spectacular, but he almost never fails to find his target, pushing River back up the pitch.
Even Ponzio, the man pushed out of the River first-team in favour of the kid affectionately known as Tucu, finds it impossible to hold a grudge.
The ex-Espanyol star labelled his team-mate the best No. 5 in Argentina during an interview with Ole (in Spanish), and it is hard to argue with him. He is not afraid to get involved in the dirty work, but precision is the key to his game, jumping in to pick up the ball and move it along with almost surgical timing and accuracy.
Could Kranevitter be the man to succeed Mascherano as Argentina's midfield dynamo? There are unavoidable similarities between the pair, as well as a certain coherence to the timeline. In Russia 2018, Mascherano will be 34 years old while the current River star will have just celebrated his 25th birthday, ready to take on the world in his prime.
Predictions are always dangerous. The next step for Kranevitter will undoubtedly be a trip across the Atlantic Ocean to a European club, something that has proved too much for all too many Argentinian youngsters tagged as future greats while in the Primera Division. But it is impossible not to get excited about River's new wonderkid.
Mascherano cemented his place in Argentinian folklore with a frankly heroic effort in every single World Cup clash. Four years down the line, his successor at River and maybe the Albiceleste could be winning the same plaudits as Argentina look to go one step further and end their long wait for a third World Cup.
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